The greatest clam chowders usually come from a dockside restaurant, but if you don't live in a Lifetime movie, you might not have access to one. The next best thing on a rainy day is the canned stuff.

Clam chowder is not something that, on its face, sounds or even looks that appetizing. And as a kid growing up in New England to non-New England parents, it took most of the courage I could muster to ...